By Princess Michael of Kent | Review by Circe Aguiar
I found this book under an open sky in New York City—on a quiet corner just across from the Natural History Museum, where faces of the world drift past the gates of Central Park. It was nestled between worn volumes and whispers of forgotten shelves. I picked it up without knowing I was holding a universe of Renaissance passion and shadowed power: The Serpent and the Moon.
In this richly woven biography, Princess Michael of Kent revives the grand and volatile court of 16th-century France, telling the story of two women bound by love and destiny:
- Catherine de’ Medici, the young Italian bride—clever, calculating, and too often overlooked.
- Diane de Poitiers, the King’s mistress—twenty years older, endlessly graceful, and holding the king’s heart.
And between them: Henri II of France, torn not only by affection but by the dangerous politics of appearance, legitimacy, and lineage.
“Diane de Poitiers reigned as queen in all but name.”
– The Serpent and the Moon
This isn’t merely a tale of court scandal. It is a portrait of how female power is veiled, measured, and judged. Diane, adorned in black and pearls, becomes a living symbol of lunar wisdom—gentle in light, but cold in her orbit. Catherine, often vilified in history, here becomes the serpent not as villain, but as a symbol of strategic endurance. She waits, coils, and finally strikes when time bends in her favor.
“Catherine had learned to survive, and more: to master silence as a weapon.”
– The Serpent and the Moon
What drew me in most was the rhythm of the writing. The author—royalty herself—writes with reverence but not distance. She gives us a sensual and scholarly vision of a world where everything is performance, and nothing is secure.
“In the Court of France, power was never just given. It was worn like perfume—noticed, envied, and dangerous.”
– The Serpent and the Moon
As I read, I couldn’t help but see how the past echoes in the present: women still made to choose between love and authority, still written into roles of moon and serpent.